Cowboy
by TyriaT
Summary: Mandy gets a challenge dealing with Nick. N


**Title:** Cowboy

**Author:** TyriaT

**Pairing:** N&M

**Rating:** Mature (not for smut)

**Prompt:** "I'm going to make him an offer he can't refuse," "The Godfather," 1972.

**Disclaimer:** Nope. Still not my characters, no matter how much I would love them to be. I just like to have a little fun from time to time.

**AN:** This was done as part of the Summer Blockbuster Ficathon on Geekfiction. I almost didn't get this done. Finally I decided needed to write this story, since I had such a great prompt. I thought about doing GS, but felt N&M would be better. Thanks, as always, to my tireless beta, LiT, without whom my stories would flip tenses more times than my roommate flips TV channels.

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Many times the techs at CSI were beyond busy and there was hardly any time to breathe.

And then there were the slow days.

Everyone who worked at the lab was brilliant in their own way. Where there are brilliant people with nothing to do, completely surrounded by a sundry of lab paraphernalia, it always forms an equation for trouble.

Their pranks were entirely innocent. They all remembered too well the explosion that landed Greg in the hospital for weeks and left many others injured, so they made sure anything that was done would be safe, but funny. Most of the time, the only thing damaged was someone's dignity. Other times, they gave each other dares. They never put time limits on the dares, because they never knew when a ton of evidence would come into the lab from a scene. They always made sure the evidence came first.

It was one of those relatively slow days when Mandy came into DNA because of a page from Wendy. As she walked up to the doorway, she was almost run over by Nick, who was walking out. He stopped and waved her past him. "Ladies first," he said with a wink. Mandy tried not to blush at the gesture, but she could feel the red creep across her face. She smiled at him, and saw him grin as he left the room. She cursed her nature and swore she would pay him back after shift.

Luckily for her, Wendy was preoccupied watching Nick walk down the hall, and paid no attention to Mandy's reaction.

"Wendy, did you need…"

"I wonder if Nick is a true cowboy," Wendy interrupted, her attention still on the hallway Nick disappeared through.

Mandy crinkled her forehead in confusion and asked for clarification. "A true cowboy?"

For the first time since his exit, Wendy turned to Mandy. "You know; listens to country music, knows how to ride a horse, wears boots, a huge belt buckle, and a hat." She ticked each point off on her fingers. "A true cowboy."

"Well, he IS from Texas." Mandy offered.

Wendy waved away the point, as if it meant nothing. "Yeah, but his dad is a lawyer. Who…"

"Actually his dad is a judge. His mom is the lawyer." Mandy was quick to correct her.

Wendy rolled her eyes. "Like that matters. All I'm saying is that they both make good money, so who knows if they actually owned a ranch or anything. Maybe he grew up in a city and never came close to a horse."

As Wendy kept her mind focused on her current train of thought, Mandy was secretly relieved that she did not pick up on her knowledge of Nick's parents. She decided she was better off leaving the room before Wendy gave voice to another thought about Nick that she would unconsciously answer. Unfortunately, that meant she still needed to find out what the page was all about.

"Ahem!" Wendy finally turned her attention outward at the sound to see Mandy standing there tapping her foot. "Did you actually page me in here for a good reason, or did you just want to discuss Nick all night?"

Trying to switch gears in her mind left Wendy stammering. "Uh, yeah…I…I have it here…somewhere…" Finally, she fumbled across what she was looking for. "Ah ha! Nick needed to leave for another scene quickly, so he asked if I could hand stuff out, since most of the evidence is for me." She gathered a couple fingerprint cards and some lifts and held them out.

As Mandy was about to take them, Wendy pulled back out of her reach. "I just realized something..."

"What's that?"

"You haven't done a dare in a really long time. In fact, you seem to be the one coming up with things for everyone else to do."

Mandy knew it couldn't last and that eventually someone would notice. She sighed and answered, "What do you want me to do?"

Wendy smiled one of her dangerously cheery smiles and said, "I want you to find out if Nick is a _real_ cowboy."

The first thoughts entering her head were not something she was willing to share with anyone at the lab, so she was forced to feign ignorance when she asked, "How in the world do I prove that?"

Wendy passed the evidence Mandy would need to process over and shrugged. "Find a way to borrow his hat, _if_ he has one, and wear it to work the next day." She pointed the finger of her now empty hand at Mandy. "But you cannot ask for it outright, and it has to be a trade for something else."

Mandy looked incredulously at her. "How am I supposed to get the hat without asking for it?!"

"Not my problem." Wendy smirked and turned her attention to the evidence waiting for her on the table.

Understanding she would not get any more information or help from Wendy, Mandy walked out the door to begin processing the evidence and to figure out the dare she would now have to accomplish.

oooooooo

When she entered Nick's apartment that evening, as per their arrangements, Nick threw her bag into a corner and started kissing her as he drew her to the bedroom. She tried to get his attention and tell him about her day and the dare, but clearly he was distracted. Mandy knew of only one way she would be able to gain his attention. She pushed him on the bed widthwise and sat on top of him while she pushed his arms to the mattress. "I have to prove you are a cowboy."

Nick looked up at her and laughed. "What?"

Mandy explained about what happened and the dare she now had to accomplish making sure not to reveal exactly what she needed to do.

"Oh? How are you supposed to prove I am a cowboy? By riding me?" he asked from his position beneath her as he bucked up once.

Mandy licked her lips while looking at him hungrily. "Definitely came to mind, but not part of the dare. I do have to give you something in return."

He leaned back against the bed and smirked. "Is that so? And what, may I ask, do you propose for your part of this trade?"

Mandy grinned as she lowered her body slowly against his and ran her lips lightly from his chin to his ear to whisper her idea. She then took his earlobe between her lips and began licking and nibbling the shell as she rubbed their lower bodies together. Throwing his head back against the mattress, Nick moaned as he bucked into her. She released the lobe and positioned her face directly above his. "Darlin', you sure do know how to strike a hard bargain."

She smiled and slowly lowered her lips to his. "I thought you might enjoy my proposal."

"Mmm, yes, Ma'am. Let me show you my appreciation." He kissed her, taking her breath away with his lips and tongue. He pulled her head away slightly and said, "Sit up."

Mandy gave a start in confusion, which shone through her eyes. "I'm sorry?"

"Sit up, hon."

Still confused, she never the less followed his instructions until she was sitting over his crotch, her legs to either side of his body. As soon as he felt she was in position, he hopped up and flipped them both around, laying her in the very position he had just vacated on the bed.

Mandy gave a squeal as she went on a ride she never expected. She laughed as Nick began exploring her neck and upper chest exposing it as he slowly unbuttoned her top. "Well, aren't you just full of surprises."

He stopped what he was doing and gave her a wolfish smile. "Trust me. You ain't seen nothin' yet."

oooooooo

Wendy walked into the fingerprint lab, and stopped outside the door in total shock. There was Mandy with an oversized, obviously too large for her, cowboy hat solidly on her head.

She must have made some small noise, because Mandy looked up from her work and said, "Hi, Wendy. How do you like my new look?"

Wendy entered the lab, her mouth still hanging slightly open from the surprise. "I sent you on that dare yesterday! How in the world did you do it with the stipulations I gave you?"

Mandy grinned and thought about the elaborate meal she made for Nick when she was finally able to drag herself from his bed. She remembered how he looked, all handsome and sleep tussled as the smells brought him out into the kitchen. "Quite easily, actually." She lowered her voice and did her best Marlon Brando as she retorted, "I made him an offer he couldn't refuse."


End file.
